When you think about it, cars just haven’t keep up with the rest of the world in terms of huge shifts in technological innovation. For example, if you went back to the world of a century ago, it would bear very little practical resemblance to today’s world in technological terms in most areas of life and perhaps most particularly the household and all its electrical appliances – except for the car.

The fact is that the car is essentially the same as it was 100 years ago – in its basic form. It’s powered by petrol via an internal combustion engine and it’s a metal box, of sorts, with four wheels.

You see what I mean? So cars have a lot of catching up to do. It’s well over a century since Thomas Edison and others truly captured the power of electricity and made it really practicable. But the car has truly lagged.

Perhaps that’s finally changing though? At long last, electric cars are really making genuine inroads into the market. It’s trifling at the moment, yes. But it’s well on its way. And believe me, it will accelerate like crazy from here. Already, there are lots of all-electric cars to choose from and there are even electric supercharged and super-fast sports cars.

And at the recent Tokyo Motor how, Honda unveiled its own latest eco cars including the incredible and groundbreaking Micro-Commuter car, which looks a little like a modern vacuum cleaner on four hidden wheels – and which has a range of less than 40 miles.

But rather like Edison’s electric light innovations from the 1880s – or like the true dawning of the Internet age en-masse over 100 years later during the last few years of the 20^th century, you just know that electric cars are coming. But how, when and where? – and which will be the winners and loses is much trickier.

Nevertheless, your kids will regard them as normal – and instead of refueling, they’ll be recharging as their norm. 

Judging by the main exhibitions at all the world’s major car shows over the last couple of years, the future of the car looks to be in lightweight materials technology – and electrically powered – whether wholly or in part as with a hybrid vehicle. Pretty much every new car offers better fuel economy, whether it’s through traditional internal combustion engines or alternative power. And with manufacturers ranging from Honda to Toyota making greener models, the reality is future cars will be very eco friendly.

Two things also seem likely to happen in the relatively short-term future:

1. Electric vehicles will become ever smaller and extend their range to ever greater distances between charges.
2. The role of the electric motor in hybrid cars will take on ever more of the load – away from the petrol or diesel fuelled drive.

In other words, these technologies will tend to merge as the technology itself improves – to a point where there is no need for recharging as the (now very small….) conventionally-fuelled engine does sufficient work in recharging – or there is only an occasional need for recharging.

Also – the recharging areas will become far more prevalent – and a lot faster to use. This is already happening in the UK, in response to the numbers of eco cars UK consumers are choosing to purchase. An increasing number of service stations now include recharging points for electric vehicles. It’s easy to imagine convenient power points in parking areas and in hotels and motels etc. – on a pay per rapid charge type of basis.

Then there’s hydrogen fuel and hydrogen fuel cell technology which could yet sweep the entire marketplace depending on how rapidly it evolves. Again, it’s quite possible to envision a future whereby hydrogen fuel cells quickly and effectively recharge the electric cars of tomorrow.

Until then, most of us are stuck with oil-based fuels. But to our children, these look likely to be anathema. And as the demand from China and India for oil continues to grow – any technological advances can’t happen quickly enough for either our pockets or the environment!

Your sofa cover choice will be based a lot of what kind of family or home you have. So before you go looking online or at sofa sales, think about what kind of sofa covering would be best for you.

Leather sofas are a fantastic choice for family life. Leather is really easy to maintain, to keep clean and is virtually impossible to stain.  The only thing you need to do is take care not to leave any spills for too long – leather will spot if it gets damp.

To keep leather sofas clean, you just need a damp rag which you can use to wipe a gentle soap onto the leather.  Wipe it dry with a clean dry cloth.  Once the sofa is fully dry you can use a deep conditioning formula for leather. You’ll find this in any sofa store.

With any product, before going ahead on the main part of the sofa, do a test patch on a part of the sofa that you don’t see much, to check that it doesn’t alter the colour or finish of your sofa. Leather sofas, however, aren’t for everyone. Some people find that it’s a bit cold as a sofa material, and for some homes, leather may look out of place.

Fabric sofas will suit any home – and they can appear quite casual or very smart, depending on the particular material you choose. One thing to watch out for is that you get the fabric stain-protected, especially if you have small children.

Good quality fabric sofas will be made of a very tight weave cloth.  The tighter the weave the longer-lasting the fabric will be. Check for tight stitching on the seams, as this is a sign of good quality craftsmanship.

Of course, with both leather and fabric sofas, there’s no limit to the colour choice available. You can find sofas in every hue imaginable.  With fabric sofas, you can even buy removable sofa covers so that you could change colour of your sofa each time you wash it – what could be more versatile than that?

While it’s not a particularly glamorous task to complete, cleaning your kitchen is most definitely a necessary one.

As well as it being easier to do things in the kitchen when it’s clean and tidy, it’s also far safer and healthy to prepare food for all of your family. When it comes to cleaning your kitchen, it’s useful to have a number of different products to hand to ensure you get the job done quickly and efficiently.

One basic cleaning product to have in your home is Fairy Liquid – it’s the best thing to wash up all your pots and pans with, making it essential for your kitchen. If you’ve got burned on food on anything, you should fill the pan with hot water and washing-up liquid, allowing it to soak for a while before giving it a thorough clean.

Even if you take every care to put leftovers in the bin before washing up, some bits are sure to slip through the net and they’ll build up in your sink, causing the drains to get blocked up. There are plenty of drain cleaning products out there, so just keep an eye out for any offers or look for Printable Coupons to keep down the cost.

Your oven is another part of your kitchen which will need a little TLC every now and again. If you’re beginning to notice smoke coming out when you open the oven door, it’s definitely time to give it a clean. There are so many great oven cleaning products to choose from, whether you want an eco-friendly cleaner or a stronger solution, so it’s just a case of reading the instructions and choosing the one which best suits your needs.

Of course, a mop and bucket won’t go amiss in the kitchen either. If you’ve got stubborn stains on the floor, use a little bleach on them to get it out quickly. Give the floor a once over with a floor cleaner and mop to keep it looking sparkling clean, whenever you get the chance.

Just a few choice cleaning products will make a big difference to your kitchen, so get buying now so your house looks amazing in time for the new year.